Phenobarbital and sulfonylurea-inducible operons encoding herbicide metabolizing cytochromes P-450 in Streptomyces griseolus

Enhanced heterologous expression of two Streptomyces griseolus cytochrome P450s and Streptomyces coelicolor ferredoxin reductase as potentially efficient hydroxylation catalysts

The herbicide-inducible, soluble cytochrome P450s CYP105A1 and CYP105B1 and their adjacent ferredoxins, Fd1 and Fd2, of Streptomyces griseolus were expressed in Escherichia coli to high levels. Conditions for high-level expression of active enzyme able to catalyze hydroxylation have been developed. Analysis of the expression levels of the P450 proteins in several different E. coli expression hosts identified E. coli BL21 Star(DE3)pLysS as the optimal host cell to express CYP105B1 as judged by CO difference spectra. Examination of the codons used in the CYP1051A1 sequence indicated that it contains a number of codons corresponding to rare E. coli tRNA species. The level of its expression was improved in the modified forms of E. coli BL21(DE3), which contain extra copies of rare codon E. coli tRNA genes. The activity of correctly folded cytochrome P450s was further enhanced by cloning a ferredoxin reductase from Streptomyces coelicolor downstream of CYP105A1 and CYP105B1 and their adjacent ferredoxins. Expression of CYP105A1 and CYP105B1 was also achieved in Streptomyces lividans 1326 by cloning the P450 genes and their ferredoxins into the expression vector pBW160. S. lividans 1326 cells containing CYP105A1 or CYP105B1 were able efficiently to dealkylate 7-ethoxycoumarin.

A novel class of self-sufficient cytochrome P450 monooxygenases in prokaryotes

The Bacillus cytochrome P450 BM3 integrates an entire P450 system in one polypeptide and represents a convenient prokaryotic model for microsomal P450s. This self-sufficient class II P450 is also present in actinomycetes and fungi. By genome analysis we have identified additional homologues in the pathogenic species Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus, and in Ralstonia metallidurans. This analysis also revealed a novel class of putative self-sufficient P450s, P450 PFOR, comprising a class I P450 that is related to Rhodococcus erythropolis CYP116, and a phthalate family oxygenase reductase (PFOR) module. P450 PFOR genes are found in a Rhodococcus strain, three pathogenic Burkholderia species and in the R. metallidurans strain that possesses a P450 BM3 homologue. Co-evolution of P450 and reductase domains is apparent in both types of self-sufficient enzymes. The new class of P450 enzymes is of potential interest for various biotechnological applications.

Evidence that RDX biodegradation by Rhodococcus strain DN22 is plasmid-borne and involves a cytochrome p-450

AIMS

To investigate the biodegradation of the explosive compound RDX in Rhodococcus strain DN22, a bacterium previously isolated for its ability to grow on RDX as sole nitrogen source.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Analysis of the rates of RDX degradation and nitrite production indicated that 2 mol nitrite were produced per mole RDX degraded. Cells of strain DN22 had the highest activity against RDX during the exponential phase and low activity in the stationary phase. Nitrite production from RDX was inhibited by metyrapone, menadione, piperonyl butoxide, n-octylamine and carbon monoxide and inducible by pyrrolidine, pyridine and atrazine. Acridine orange treatment yielded RDX-minus derivatives of strain DN22 at a curing rate of 1.5% and all of the cured derivatives had lost a large plasmid.

CONCLUSIONS

RDX biodegradation in strain DN22 appears to involve a plasmid-encoded cytochrome p-450 enzyme.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Plasmid-borne RDX degradation genes could potentially be transferred between bacteria. Our research into RDX metabolism in strain DN22 will facilitate future applications of this bacterium for bioremediation.

Phenobarbital response elements of cytochrome P450 genes and nuclear receptors

Phenobarbital (PB) response elements are composed of various nuclear receptor (NR)-binding sites. A 51-bp distal element PB-responsive enhancer module (PBREM) conserved in the PB-inducible CYP2B genes contains two NR-binding direct repeat (DR)-4 motifs. Responding to PB exposure in liver, the NR constitutive active receptor (CAR) translocates to the nucleus, forms a dimer with the retinoid X receptor (RXR), and activates PBREM via binding to DR-4 motifs. For CYP3A genes, a common NR site [DR-3 or everted repeat (ER)-6] is present in proximal promoter regions. In addition, the distal element called the xenobiotic responsive module (XREM) is found in human CYP3A4 genes, which contain both DR-3 and ER-6 motifs. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) could bind to all of these sites and, upon PB induction, a PXR:RXR heterodimer could transactivate XREM. These response elements and NRs are functionally versatile, and capable of responding to distinct but overlapping groups of xenochemicals.

Degradation of pesticides by actinomycetes

Actinomycetes have considerable potential for the biotransformation and biodegradation of pesticides. Members of this group of Gram-positive bacteria have been found to degrade pesticides with widely different chemical structures, including organochlorines, s-triazines, triazinones, carbamates, organophosphates, organophosphonates, acetanilides, and sulfonylureas. A limited number of these xenobiotic pesticides can be mineralized by single isolates, but often consortia of bacteria are required for complete degradation. Cometabolism of pesticides is frequently observed within this group of bacteria. When compared with pesticide degradation by Gram-negative bacteria, much less information about molecular mechanisms involved in biotransformations of pesticides by actinomycetes is available. Progress in this area has been seriously hampered by a lack of suitable molecular genetic tools for most representatives of this major group of soil bacteria. Overcoming this constraint would enable a better exploitation of the biodegradation and biotransformation abilities of actinomycetes for applications such as bioremediation and construction of transgenic herbicide-resistant crops.

Biochemical and molecular approaches for production of pravastatin, a potent cholesterol-lowering drug

The intensive search for inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis by screening culture broths has spanned more than 20 years here at Sankyo. Resulting from our efforts, ML-236B was discovered in Japan as the first potent and specific inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase. This compound contributed-to the Nobel Prize-winning work of Goldstein and Brown in which they elucidated the mechanisms of the LDL receptor pathway. After the discovery of ML-236B, many attempts were performed to find other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, and some potent inhibitors including pravastatin have already been launched. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are in worldwide clinical use and play a pivotal role in the therapy of hyperlipidemic patients. Pravastatin is produced by a two-step fermentation, firstly ML-236B is produced by Penicillium citrinum followed by the hydroxylation of ML-236B by S. carbophilus to form pravastatin. Recent advances in the molecular characterization of the Cyt P-450sca-2 and their responsiveness to ML-236B and PB in bacterial cultures should help elucidate the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of ML-236BNa and PB induction. In an effort to increase the productivity of this fermentation process, new technologies have been developed, and the mechanism of hydroxylation has been extensively investigated.

Molecular approaches for production of pravastatin, a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor: transcriptional regulation of the cytochrome p450sca gene from Streptomyces carbophilus by ML-236B sodium salt and phenobarbital

We have characterized the transcriptional regulation of ML-236B.Na and phenobarbital-inducible cytochrome P450sca-2 (CytP450sca-2) from Streptomyces carbophilus, an industrial pravastatin-producing strain. ML-236B.Na and phenobarbital enhanced the expression of the cytP450sca-2 gene in S. carbophilus. The cytP450sca-2 gene was also ML-236B.Na-inductive in S. lividans. Analysis of various deletion and mutation of the 5'-flanking region of the cytP450sca-2 gene revealed that the 1-kb region was required for ML-236B.Na-dependent CytP450sca-2 induction. We have found a putative ORF in the 5'-flanking region that encodes a protein of 174 amino acid residues containing a helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif. A gel mobility shift assay showed that the protein was bound by an imperfect palindromic sequence between -46bp and -24bp in the 5'-flanking region, and ML-236B.Na was found to inhibit its binding. These findings suggest that induction of cytP450sca-2 is negatively regulated at the transcriptional level and that the protein encoded by the putative ORF is possibly functional as a repressor of the cytP450sca-2 gene.

Characterization of the expression of the thcB gene, coding for a pesticide-degrading cytochrome P-450 in Rhodococcus strains

A cytochrome P-450 system in Rhodococcus strains, encoded by thcB, thcC, and thcD, participates in the degradation of thiocarbamates and several other pesticides. The regulation of the system was investigated by fusing a truncated lacZ in frame to thcB, the structural gene for the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase. Analysis of the thcB-lacZ fusion showed that the expression of thcB was 10-fold higher in the presence of the herbicide EPTC (s-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate). Similar enhancement of the thcB-lacZ expression was found with other thiocarbamate pesticides. Atrazine, simazine, or carbofuran, although metabolized by the system, had no effect on the thcB-lacZ expression. The presence of glucose slightly increased the expression of thcB-lacZ, indicating no catabolic repression of the thcB-lacZ expression. The expression of thcB-lacZ was decreased more than twofold in Luria-Bertani medium. This was due in part to cysteine, which repressed thcB-lacZ expression. It was confirmed that the thcR gene, which is transcribed divergently from thcB, codes for a positive regulatory protein which is essential for the thcB-lacZ expression. Studies of the thcR-lacZ protein fusion showed that the thcR gene is expressed constitutively.

A model for the transcriptional regulation of the CYP2B1/B2 gene in rat liver

The phenobarbitone-responsive minimal promoter has been shown to lie between nt -179 and nt + 1 in the 5' (upstream) region of the CYP2B1/B2 gene in rat liver, on the basis of the drug responsiveness of the sequence linked to human growth hormone gene as reporter and targeted to liver as an asialoglycoprotein-DNA complex in vivo. Competition analyses of the nuclear protein-DNA complexes formed in gel shift assays with the positive (nt -69 to -98) and negative (nt -126 to -160) cis elements (PE and NE, respectively) identified within this region earlier indicate that the same protein may be binding to both the elements. The protein species purified on PE and NE affinity columns appear to be identical based on SDS/PAGE analysis, where it migrates as a protein of 26-28 kDa. Traces of a high molecular weight protein (94-100 kDa) are also seen in the preparation obtained after one round of affinity chromatography. The purified protein stimulates transcription of a minigene construct containing the 179 nt on the 5' side of the CYP2B1/B2 gene linked to the I exon in a cell-free system from liver nuclei. The purified protein can give rise to all the three complexes (I, II, and III) with the PE, just as the crude nuclear extract, under appropriate conditions. Manipulations in vitro indicate that the NE has a significantly higher affinity for the dephosphorylated form than for the phosphorylated form of the protein. The PE binds both forms. Phenobarbitone treatment of the animal leads to a significant increase in the phosphorylation of the 26- to 28-kDa and 94-kDa proteins in nuclear labeling experiments followed by isolation on a PE affinity column. We propose that the protein binding predominantly to the NE in the dephosphorylated state characterizes the basal level of transcription of the CYP2B1/B2 gene. Phenobarbitone treatment leads to phosphorylation of the protein, shifting the equilibrium toward binding to the PE. This can promote interaction with an upstream enhancer through other proteins such as the 94-kDa protein and leads to a significant activation of transcription.

Cloning, characterization and expression of the gene encoding cytochrome P-450sca-2 from Streptomyces carbophilus involved in production of pravastatin, a specific HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor

Pravastatin, a drug for treating hypercholesterolemia, is produced by hydroxylation of ML-236B-Na in Streptomyces carbophilus (Sc) catalyzed by the cytochrome P-450sca (CytP-450sca) monooxygenase system. The gene (cytP-450sca-2) encoding CytP-450sca-2 was cloned from Sc. The gene had an open reading frame of 1233 bp, encoding a 410-amino-acid protein. The partial sequencing of the purified CytP-450sca-2 revealed that the N-terminal Met had been removed. CytP-450sca-2 contained the heme-binding HR2 region characteristic of all CytP-450, as well as the putative oxygen-binding site proposed in CytP-450cam from Pseudomonas putida. ML-236B.Na enhanced transcription of cytP-450sca-2, suggesting that substrate induction in Sc is transcriptionally regulated. S. lividans (Sl) transfected with cytP-450sca-2 converted ML-236B.Na to pravastatin, indicating the cloned gene to be functional in Sl.

Cloning and heterologous expression of the genes encoding nonspecific electron transport components for a cytochrome P450 system of Saccharopolyspora erythraea involved in erythromycin production

The forA gene encoding a protein that can function as a NADH:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (For) has been cloned from Saccharopolyspora erythraea, the erythromycin A (ErA) producer. In a previous study For protein, together with the FdxA ferredoxin from the same organism, was shown to be able to reconstitute the cytochrome P450 system responsible for the hydroxylation of 6-deoxyerythronolide B, an intermediate of ErA biosynthesis. Nucleotide sequence data suggest that the cloned forA gene codes for For, the putative pyruvate dehydrogenase component, dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase, or its close homolog. Overexpression of forA appeared to be toxic to Escherichia coli.

The role of Barbie box sequences as cis-acting elements involved in the barbiturate-mediated induction of cytochromes P450BM-1 and P450BM-3 in Bacillus megaterium

In a previous publication (He, J.-S., and Fulco, A. J. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 7864-7869), we reported that a 15-17-base pair DNA sequence (designated a Barbie box element) in the 5'-regulatory regions of cytochrome P450BM-1 and P450BM-3 genes from Bacillus megaterium was recognized by a barbiturate-regulated protein. It is now recognized that essentially all eukaryotic and prokaryotic genes whose 5'-flanking regions are known and that encode barbiturate-inducible proteins contain the Barbie box element. A 4-base pair sequence (AAAG) is found in the same relative position in all Barbie box elements. In B. megaterium, mutation of the Barbie box located in the P450BM-1 gene leads to the constitutive synthesis of cytochrome P450BM-1 and a 10-fold increase of expression of Bm1P1, a small gene located upstream of the P450BM-1 gene, that encodes a putative regulatory protein. Mutation of the P450BM-3 Barbie box significantly increased the expression of both P450BM-3 and Bm3P1 (another small gene located upstream of the P450BM-3 gene that encodes a second putative regulatory protein) in response to pentobarbital induction but left the basal levels unaffected. In gel mobility shift assays, Bm3R1, a repressor of the P450BM-3 gene, was found to specifically interact with the Barbie box sequences of the B. megaterium P450 genes. Mutated Barbie boxes showed a decreased binding affinity for Bm3R1 compared to their wild type (unmutated) counterparts. Barbie box sequences were also shown to specifically interact with putative positive regulatory factors of B. megaterium cells. These putative positive factors were induced by pentobarbital and were also present at high levels during late stationary phase of B. megaterium cell cultures grown in the absence of barbiturates. The mutated Barbie box sequences had greater binding affinity for these positive factors than did unmutated Barbie box sequences. DNase I footprinting analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the P450BM-1 gene revealed that these positive factors protected a segment of DNA covering a portion of the Barbie box sequence and a small flanking region. Similar footprinting experiments with the 5'-flanking region of the P450BM-3 gene failed, however, to unambiguously reveal protected sequences in the Barbie box region. The evidence suggests that the positive factors and Bm3R1 compete with each other for binding to the Barbie box region, especially in the 5'-flanking region of the P450BM-1 gene, and for putative roles in the regulation of transcription from the B. megaterium P450 genes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Degradation of the thiocarbamate herbicide EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylcarbamothioate) and biosafening by Rhodococcus sp. strain NI86/21 involve an inducible cytochrome P-450 system and aldehyde dehydrogenase

Determination of the N-terminal sequences of two EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylcarbamothioate)-induced proteins from thiocarbamate-degrading Rhodococcus sp. strain NI86/21 resolved by two-dimensional electrophoresis enabled the localization of the respective structural genes on two distinct DNA fragments. One of these strongly induced proteins is a NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase active on aliphatic aldehydes. The second protein was identified as a cytochrome P-450 enzyme. The cytochrome P-450 gene represents the first member of a new family, CYP116. Downstream of the cytochrome P-450 gene, two genes for a [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin (rhodocoxin) and a ferredoxin reductase are located. A putative regulatory gene encoding a new member of the AraC-XylS family of positive transcriptional regulators is divergently transcribed from the cytochrome P-450 gene. By hybridization, it was demonstrated that the aldehyde dehydrogenase gene is widespread in the Rhodococcus genus, but the components of the cytochrome P-450 system are unique to Rhodococcus sp. strain NI86/21. Overexpression in Escherichia coli was achieved for all of these proteins except for the regulatory protein. Evidence for the involvement of this cytochrome P-450 system in EPTC degradation and herbicide biosafening for maize was obtained by complementation experiments using EPTC-negative Rhodococcus erythropolis SQ1 and mutant FAJ2027 as acceptor strains. N dealkylation by cytochrome P-450 and conversion of the released aldehyde into the corresponding carboxylic acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase are proposed as the reactions initiating thiocarbamate catabolism in Rhodococcus sp. strain NI86/21. In addition to the major metabolite N-depropyl EPTC, another degradation product was identified, EPTC-sulfoxide.

Transcriptional regulation of the Papilio polyxenes CYP6B1 gene

Detoxification of host plant defensive compounds by larval Lepidoptera is mediated by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) such as CYP6B1, which is expressed in Papilio polyxenes (black swallowtail) larvae in response to xanthotoxin, a linear furanocoumarin. Baculovirus-mediated expression of two cloned CYP6B1 cDNAs in lepidopteran cell lines has demonstrated that CYP6B1 isozymes primarily metabolize the linear furanocoumarins, xanthotoxin and bergapten, and not angular furanocoumarins. To characterize the regulatory features of the CYP6B1 transcription unit, we have isolated the first full-length CYP6B1v3 genomic DNA clone from P. polyxenes. The open reading frame of this gene is interrupted by a single intron and is virtually identical to the previously characterized CYP6B1 cDNAs. Primer extension and ribonuclease protection analyses have localized the transcription initiation site to a point 28 nucleotides upstream from the AUG initiation codon. RNase protection analyses on RNA from larvae induced by linear and angular furanocoumarins indicate that transcription of the CYP6B1 gene is induced in insects significantly in response to xanthotoxin and only slightly in response to bergapten. Angular furanocoumarins, such as angelicin, which are not appreciably metabolized by the CYP6B1 gene product, do not significantly induce transcription of this gene. We conclude that this P450 gene is transcriptionally regulated in vivo by at least one of the substrates which the encoded protein metabolizes. Transient expression of CAT fusion constructs in transfected Sf9 lepidopteran cells demonstrates that nucleotides -1 to -838 upstream from the CYP6B1v3 transcription initiation site retain basal and xanthotoxin-inducible transcriptional activities in this heterologous cell line. These data clearly indicate that P. polyxenes has adapted to the presence of furanocoumarins in its host plants by evolving P450 isozymes and regulatory cascades which respond to specific toxins.